The Debate Only 300 People will See in a County of 1 Million. FIOS NEWS Strikes Out in its First Big League At Bat.

Tonight County Executive Robert Astorino and his challenger for County Executive, George Latimer will debate at 6 PM at the Murphy Auditorium on the Iona College Campus in New Rochelle. It will be televised on FIOS1 and then rebroadcast on Saturday.

It will not be broadcast live on radio. It will not be simulcast on the Journal News website. The information provided by the Journal News does not indicate it will be on the website continuously or any other way. One hundred politically connected persons will get tickets, so 200 voter types can get in. It’s like a Trump rally.

The debate only lasts an hour.

This is managed exposure at its worst. Who agreed to these conditions. Latimer should have demanded it to be broadcast by News 12, so Cablevision subscribers can see it. Cablevision though being hurt by Verizon FIOS inroads on their subscriber list, is still number one in terms of subscribers.

The Journal News has allowed FIOS1 News an exclusive on this debate, even though Journal News is a co-sponsor. Why does not the Journal News simulcast it on its website?

Why doesn’t FIOS1 News make a major public relations gesture and allow Cablevision and News 12 to carry the feed for the sake of informing the voters (as much as any voters can be informed by a debate where 4 panelists, a chair, and opening statements take up half the time in a one hour debate).

At the very least FIOS1News , could let WVOX or WCBS Radio be allowed to carry the debate live so commuters stuck in traffic could hear it driving home. If Cablevision refused to carry it, so be it, then FIOS1News and the Journal News are off the hook. But that does not let The Journal News off the news integrity hook for not simulcasting the debate on their website.

Does anyone really think, more to the point, that 6 PM is a good time to hold a debate?

No. It is not.

People cannot even get to the debate in time because of the traffic up and down the Hutch. And where do you park in New Rochelle?

Could we have debates scheduled at a time when voters can attend them? Not just politicians who already know who they are voting for?

This is a bad job in scheduling and planning and deciminating this first debate. Whatever were they thinking of.

To quote the late Paul Wood, “It’s a disgrace.”

It is not only fake news, it’s mismanaged news.

You get the impression no one wants to anyone to see Mr. Astorino blasted by Mr. Latimer, or Mr. Astorino blast Mr. Latimer.